The American Journal of Preventative Medicine recently published an article written by Bruce Christiansen called, “Closing Tobacco-Related Disparities: Using Community Organizations to Increase Consumer Demand.” It describes a study evaluating whether a brief tobacco intervention conducted in a community agency would affect smokers’ perception of that agency. The 2007 study involved 295 smokers seeking assistance from the Salvation Army in Wisconsin.

Results showed that the brief (30-second) intervention increased the likelihood that smokers would seek help when they decided to quit. Additionally, the intervention did not impair the smokers’ perceptions of the Salvation Army. Community agencies are regularly visited by those living in poverty, a population where smoking prevalence is especially high.

“Thus, there is a need to find new ways to reach out to them to engage them in efforts to quit,” said Bruce. “As a first step, this research demonstrates that it is possible to address their smoking while they receive services from a community agency.”

The study was funded by a grant from the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program to the Salvation Army of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.